This could turn out VERY well for Kovalchuk financially, especially if he can go on to do something like score the gold medal winning goal.

In Russia the story will be a player loving his country too much to just chase money in America. He'll be a Russian hero, no questioning his loyalty to his country. Then he can go on to dominate the KHL as the clearly best player in the league.

He'll get a good salary there, but he will get INSANE sponsorship money, companies all over will want the Kovalchuk brand stamped on their products.

Returning superstar, in the prime of his career at only 30 years old comes home to raise his family in a "better" country back home, leads his country's team to olympic gold on home soil for the first time ever.

This could go very well for him... if they don't win the gold and/or he's not the star it will still go well, but if it goes that way he'll come out much better financially than if he had stayed here.

yes he likely just wants to play at home. But it also means he doesn't want to achieve the pinnacle that there is to achieve in his chosen profession. That's fine. It's a choice he has made. No problem with that at all. We all make those choices. But Russian, Canadian or whatever, it also means it isn't the type of competitive nature you hope to have on your team. You want every guy to want to be part of the best team in the best league on the planet. Kovalchuk doesn't want to be that guy so he has made the decision he needed to make. While it sounded like I was slamming him with my quick comment that wasn't the intent. he has made the right decision for him and his teammates because he wasn't willing to go balls out for a NHL team.

Congratulations upon reaching the pinnacle of mediocrity in your posting career.

I'd given up long ago on being the best poster. I've decided I'm very happy in putting minimal effort into my posts. I've certainly stopped caring about such things as spelling and grammar. Etc etc etc. Hell I recently turned down a pretty big promotion simply because we didn't want to uproot our family. I understand completely the putting family ahead of career. I'm happy in my decreased career trajectory because it allows me to spend far more time with the family (others have opposite motivations). Then again, because I am happy with that means you likely don't want me running the company because I'm simply not motivated to be the best of the best (doesn't mean I'm not motivated to do my job the best I can). Same as this case...you'd much rather have the guy who wants to be a part of that pinnacle than one content with a lesser professional prize (but higher personal prize).

I'd given up long ago on being the best poster. I've decided I'm very happy in putting minimal effort into my posts. I've certainly stopped caring about such things as spelling and grammar. Etc etc etc. Hell I recently turned down a pretty big promotion simply because we didn't want to uproot our family. I understand completely the putting family ahead of career. I'm happy in my decreased career trajectory because it allows me to spend far more time with the family (others have opposite motivations). Then again, because I am happy with that means you likely don't want me running the company because I'm simply not motivated to be the best of the best (doesn't mean I'm not motivated to do my job the best I can). Same as this case...you'd much rather have the guy who wants to be a part of that pinnacle than one content with a lesser professional prize (but higher personal prize).

You're putting in way too much effort explaining to someone who does things like bringing his own personal Pom poms to Joe Louis arena

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? - Plastics." - The Graduate

I'd given up long ago on being the best poster. I've decided I'm very happy in putting minimal effort into my posts. I've certainly stopped caring about such things as spelling and grammar. Etc etc etc. Hell I recently turned down a pretty big promotion simply because we didn't want to uproot our family. I understand completely the putting family ahead of career. I'm happy in my decreased career trajectory because it allows me to spend far more time with the family (others have opposite motivations). Then again, because I am happy with that means you likely don't want me running the company because I'm simply not motivated to be the best of the best (doesn't mean I'm not motivated to do my job the best I can). Same as this case...you'd much rather have the guy who wants to be a part of that pinnacle than one content with a lesser professional prize (but higher personal prize).

You're putting in way too much effort explaining to someone who does things like bringing his own personal Pom poms to Joe Louis arena

I'd given up long ago on being the best poster. I've decided I'm very happy in putting minimal effort into my posts. I've certainly stopped caring about such things as spelling and grammar. Etc etc etc. Hell I recently turned down a pretty big promotion simply because we didn't want to uproot our family. I understand completely the putting family ahead of career. I'm happy in my decreased career trajectory because it allows me to spend far more time with the family (others have opposite motivations). Then again, because I am happy with that means you likely don't want me running the company because I'm simply not motivated to be the best of the best (doesn't mean I'm not motivated to do my job the best I can). Same as this case...you'd much rather have the guy who wants to be a part of that pinnacle than one content with a lesser professional prize (but higher personal prize).

I'd given up long ago on being the best poster. I've decided I'm very happy in putting minimal effort into my posts. I've certainly stopped caring about such things as spelling and grammar. Etc etc etc. Hell I recently turned down a pretty big promotion simply because we didn't want to uproot our family. I understand completely the putting family ahead of career. I'm happy in my decreased career trajectory because it allows me to spend far more time with the family (others have opposite motivations). Then again, because I am happy with that means you likely don't want me running the company because I'm simply not motivated to be the best of the best (doesn't mean I'm not motivated to do my job the best I can). Same as this case...you'd much rather have the guy who wants to be a part of that pinnacle than one content with a lesser professional prize (but higher personal prize).

You're putting in way too much effort explaining to someone who does things like bringing his own personal Pom poms to Joe Louis arena

shut the fuck up limp dick, those were souvenirs from Bert's mum

Give us an SGive us a PGive us an IGive us a D Give us an EGive us a Y

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay SPIDEY!

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? - Plastics." - The Graduate